Maggie Bowman
October 15, 2008 | 8:55 am EST
After the Fourth of July this year, we discussed the impact fireworks had on the environment, and I thought it might be a good idea to revisit the topic in preparation for New Year’s Eve. Back in that post, we highlighted the fact that fireworks are pretty much awful for the environment, so now, why don’t we see what some people are doing to try and clean up this mess?
The San Francisco Chronicle wrote an article a few months back in which the issue of green (not literally) fireworks was discussed. The most important thing to note, I think, is that none other than the United States military is looking for cleaner fireworks, and their money should be able to drive some pretty good research.
However, no less patriotic an institution than the U.S. military is seeking more eco-friendly pyrotechnics. The same environmental concerns are common to both fireworks and military equipment such as signaling flares and airborne weapons. Defense agencies are financing research by scientists, including…explosives experts at Los Alamos National Laboratory in New Mexico. Among the concerns is the cumulative contamination of military testing grounds and training sites.
As we noted in our original post, Disney has worked to make their fireworks shows much greener, some of that stemming from environmental concerns, and some from simply needing quieter and less smoky fireworks (Disneyland, after all, is in Anaheim, right there in Orange County). But it appears that an industry around more environmental fireworks won’t evolve unless regulations are tightened.
Read the rest of this entry »
While it remains my dream that problems with voter registration, pollworker training, and statewide voter databases be eliminated in every state, I must admit that I’d most prefer that they first be dealt with in swing states. I know, I know swing states get all the attention. The red state voter in Kansas and the blue state voter in California are no less important than the swing state voter in Ohio. And electoral reform should be done for its own sake, not just when it’s convenient for our candidate, right? Right.
Yet, the worst outcome of a troubled electoral process would be if the will of the people was subverted and the aforementioned problems thwarted voter intent. Which is why we ought to pay special attention to problems in the states where the vote will be close.
A group in Santa Fe, NM is suing the city government there under the claim they suffer and allergy to WiFi Internet frequencies. The group contends that the city is discriminating against them by using WiFi in public buildings and demands the removal of the wireless technology therein. Plaintiff Arthur Firstenburg claims he is extremely sensitive to various types of wireless technology including WiFi and cellular phones. “I get chest pain and it doesn’t go away right away¨he says. He and his fellow plaintiffs claim the use of WiFi in public places is a violation of the Americans With Disabilities Act.
The Santa Fe City Attorney is currently researching the possible merits of the suit and hopes to have a legal recommendation by the end of the month. But City Councilor Ron Trujillo isn´t afraid to let his feelings be known right now:
“It’s not 1692, it’s 2008. Santa Fe needs to embrace this technology, it’s not going away,”
Read the rest of this entry »
“Garbage Warrior” is a new film about controversial architect Michael Reynolds, who has been building radically sustainable architecture and off-the-grid energy communities for 35 years. Our trash is his muse ” everything from old tires to plastic bottles to beer cans ” all transformed into energy independent eco-homes he calls “earthships.”
The walls absorb heat from sunlight in the winter, and insulate against the heat of summer. Windows are strategically placed and adjustable modulate sunlight; solar panels and wind turbines generate electricity. Rainwater is captured; wastewater is filtered and reused. Greenhouse areas are used to grow food. The aim is to make the people who live in these houses self-sufficient.
Read the rest of this entry »
Eight years of record droughts have left western states squabbling over who gets how much water from which rivers, but now California, Arizona, Nevada, Wyoming, Utah, Colorado and New Mexico have signed a historic twenty-year plan to share their dwindling dams and rivers more or less equally.
The plan spells out how the states will cope with reductions during droughts, but it doesn’t go far enough for some conservationists, who question why there’s no effort to limit growth in a region where resources are already stretched so thin.
As John Weisheit, conservation director for Living Rivers, asked NPR’s Ted Robbins, “What’s wrong with saying, “I’m sorry, we ran out of water, you can’t live here?”
Learn more about how you can help conserve water here.
